#aragon still deserves a medal

[dreamcatcherfication]

Ghosts Are Just as Real as You and Me - Part 6

Oof, this chapter’s a bit shorter than usual. I knew how I wanted to end it, but I couldn’t fill in enough to get it any longer than it is. If you hate me from last chapter, you’re still going to hate me. I haven’t fixed anything for you and the feels are still real. If you haven’t realized by now, this fic is being used to explore some of the more rare friendships between the queens. You’ll get queens interacting that you don’t see a lot of in different scenes, so hopefully I do them justice. Anyway, anyway - hope you enjoy this (late) chapter! Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors, I’m sick with the feels.

Writing Masterpost

If you want to send a request or a prompt, my inbox is always open! I publish a story at 8:00 AM PST everyday, so I’m always in need of new ideas. If you want to be tagged in my works, just let me know and I’ll be sure to tag you!

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Trigger Warnings: Blood, descriptions of stab wounds, general anxiety

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Catherine of Aragon rarely broke down. She didn’t consider herself to be the strongest of the group nor the weakest, but she was good at staying composed. She had to, for the sake of the others. So even after her short breakdown outside of Anna’s room, she calmed herself and made a decision. Even if the other queens didn’t notice her, didn’t think of her, she would be there for them. She would hold everything together as best she could.

The other queens never stopped seeing her as the imposing figurehead who still held resentment towards Anne and Henry. Perhaps that was just her way of coping. Aragon never truly held any ill will towards Anne or Henry in the past. Now that Henry was threatening them however… It was all too much. Aragon had stood against him for twenty-four years, she could do it again. Although this time she had five other women to worry about, not just herself and her daughter. It would be hard but Aragon was willing to do it. To be the rock they all needed. “Catherine?” a voice broke her out of her thoughts.

Fading back into reality, Aragon watched Cathy standing in front of her door with a hand up. The woman seemed ready to bolt at any minute with her shifting stance. “Cathy! Come in,” Aragon urged.

Rocking on her feet, Cathy slowly made her way into the room, closing the door behind her. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“You can always talk to me,” Aragon tried to keep her voice neutral. She hoped Cathy would tell her about what was causing her to be so suspicious of everyone - especially Jane. There had been an unspoken tension between the two of them all day and it was driving Aragon crazy.

Tapping her foot, Cathy stared at the floor for a minute. Aragon waited patiently, waiting for Cathy to find the courage to speak up. “Everyone is lying.”

“What?” Aragon couldn’t help the crease in her forehead. “Why would we be lying?”

“Well, not you - I don’t think,” Cathy shot her godmother a tired, suspicious glare. “But… okay -” her voice picked up as she started ranting, “Kit hasn’t been telling us the full truth. She’s hiding how hurt she is and it’s not helping her psych. And Anna has been missing almost all the time, so clearly she’s up to something.” Aragon swallowed, remembering her confrontation with the German woman earlier that day. “Jane’s been much more skittish lately, and I just know she’s lying about something.” Part of Aragon wanted to push, but she told herself to sit still and listen. “And Anne… there’s something big going on with Anne and I’m afraid.”

Putting a hand on Cathy’s in order to calm her down, Aragon offered a smile. “You don’t have to be afraid of Anne. Unless she’s doing something stupid like usual. But Anne’s not going to hurt herself while she knows Kit’s in danger.”

“What if she has to?”

The question didn’t make any sense to Aragon. “Why would Anne have to hurt herself?”

“No,” Cathy corrected, “What if Anne had to do something bad that could hurt people. What if she didn’t have a choice?”

The hidden distress behind Cathy’s eyes was starting to worry Aragon. “Cathy, is there something you need to tell me?” She tried not to push too hard, but there was this pull in her chest telling her that she had to know what Cathy was talking about.

“I’m scared for Anne. Or scared of her. I don’t know.” Cathy’s hands were shaking, even though she tried to cover it with her sleeves. 

Putting a hand on her goddaughter’s shoulder, Aragon strained a smile. “You don’t have to be scared of Anne of all people, she’s harmless.”

Standing up, Cathy started pacing around Aragon’s room. “What if she’s not? I - I didn’t mean to go looking but I was the only one here and -” Her voice cut off and she turned to Aragon. “You have to help me figure this out.”

“First you have to tell me what it is Cathy. I’m here to help you but,” Aragon faltered with her words, “I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s going on.”

Cathy stopped pacing. “I found Anne’s journal. At first I thought it wasn’t anything important but there were things in there. Saying she had to help him even though she didn’t want to. That she was afraid he was watching Kit. Catherine, I think you know who Anne’s talking about.”

The Spanish princess watched Cathy in disbelief. “Are you sure that’s what you read?”

“I’m not 100% sure, Anne got home before I could confirm anything, but with the way she’s been acting, it makes sense. Please Catherine, I need your help with this.”

Despite Cathy spilling her guts, Aragon couldn’t help but feel that she was holding something back. But she had promised she wouldn’t push her fellow queens, so she didn’t. “Of course I’ll help you Cathy, but you have to know what you’re doing. Are you going to confront Anne -”

“I tried,” Cathy cut in. “She’s completely shut me out. And now she’s out with Kit and I’m afraid something’s going to go wrong.”

“Hey,” Aragon attempted to calm her goddaughter down. “They’re on a walk together, something they’ve done hundreds of times. Kit and Anne aren’t in any danger.”

Nodding her head, Cathy slumped down against Aragon. “You’re right. But something’s going to go wrong sooner or later and Henry’s going to capitalize on it. We’re at a disadvantage and it’s so obvious! And we’re sitting around like fish in a barrel -”

“Calm down Cathy,” Aragon pulled the woman into a hug. She ran a hand through her hair. “If you stress yourself out, it’s only going to get worse. When was the last time you slept?”

“I dunno,” she whispered into her shoulder.

“Look, why don’t you get some sleep and we’ll talk about this later, okay?” Aragon laid her goddaughter down on her bed. She expected Cathy to complain, but instead the woman landed the pillow and passed out immediately. She must have been dealing with a lot of anxieties lately. Continuing to sit on her bed, Aragon stayed quiet and watched Cathy sleep. She wanted to help so badly, but there was a line that shouldn’t be crossed into the others’ privacy. Aragon would help Cathy, but only in order to keep her in check. That way she wouldn’t inadvertently tear the queens apart.

That way none of them would tear the queens apart.

Jane and Anna rarely talked. They weren’t unfriendly, they just rarely spent time alone together. Usually they would spend time together when Kit was around, but she was always the bridge between the two queens. That was something the both of them realized when they were alone in the kitchen together. “Hi,” Jane offered a smile and continued to copy a recipe off her phone and into a cookbook.

Anna stood in front of the food cabinets, searching for an energy bar or something similar. Doing everything she could to avoid eye contact, Anna pretended to be interested in the labels of the different food items. If Jane noticed, she didn’t comment on Anna’s behavior. Instead, she mumbled, “Haven’t seen you in a while. Everything alright?” Jane’s question seemed a little forced, as if she was trying to appear invested when really she was trapped in her own head.

Obviously, Anna was familiar with the question. She was familiar with the half baked concern and how to deal with it. “M’fine. Just getting some food.”

Jane hummed in response and the two of them went back to their silence. “Do you know where Kit is?” Anna asked, glancing around the room. She hadn’t seen her friend all day, but that was probably because she had been shut up in her room.

“She’s been out for a walk with Anne for the last couple hours, why?”

“No reason,” Anna grabbed a bar and made her way out of the kitchen.

“You’ve been missing a lot lately,” Jane offhandedly said without turning to look at Anna.

Stopping in her tracks, Anna furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Anna, we notice you, you’re not invisible to us,” Jane stopped writing in her book. She turned around to face Anna. “Kit’s been noticing you’re gone too. You’ve been missing a lot this last week. I just wish you wouldn’t isolate yourself.”

Clenching her fists, Anna felt a shiver run up her spine. She didn’t want to isolate herself. But she had a job to protect her friend, and if that meant throwing away her pacifism and shutting herself away in preparation, she would do it. “Jane, you have to know this is for the best. Don’t question it.”

“You know,” Jane’s laugh sounded more like a choking sound, “I’ve been told that a lot of times. Don’t question it. Accept it. I’ve gotten very good at doing what I was told. But I’m not going to stand by quietly while you do something absolutely stupid. What in the world could be so important that you’re cutting off the people that need you?”

Before Anna could respond, a frantic knocking came from the front door. “I’ll get it,” Jane muttered, leaving the room to go answer the door. Anna followed behind, waiting for Jane to talk to whoever kept banging on their door. 

The loud knocking even brought Aragon out of her room to see what was going on. “Who in the world is knocking so loudly? Cathy’s finally asleep, I can’t have her waking up to this.” Anna chose to ignore Aragon’s concern for her goddaughter, noting how quickly she had shifted gears from helping Anna to helping Cathy.

Unlocking the door, Jane greeted, “Hello -” before she saw who was on the other side. A terrified Anne was leaning against the wall, her hands covered in blood. Her hair was matted with sweat and her eyes were bloodshot. 

“You’ve got to help us,” she pleaded. That’s when the others noticed that she wasn’t only leaning against the wall, she was supporting Kitty who was slumped on the wall. Kit’s eyes were closed, her breathing labored in her unconscious state. There was a knife wound in her side where blood was still trickling out, covering her shirt in its thick redness. The blood was all over her, making her appear like some BBC murder victim. There were even streaks of blood on her pale face vaguely in the shape of Anne’s handprints. 

Immediately, Aragon and Anna were picking up Kit, dragging her inside. “What the hell happened?” Anna demanded, ripping off her flannel to press it on Kit’s wound. 

“It - It was Henry,” Anne stuttered, her entire body shaking. “He showed up and stabbed her and - and oh God it’s all my fault!”

“Everything will be okay,” Aragon assured Anne, searching for a first aid kit.

Jane was biting her nails as she stared down at the lifeless girl she thought of so fondly. This wasn’t Kit. Not this pale, blank faced version. The real Kit was fine! She was up in her room, sleeping, and this was some cruel prank Anne was playing on her. It had to be.

“I knew it,” mumbled a voice from the stairs. The other queens looked up at Cathy who was staring blank faced at the cousins. “I knew something would go wrong.”

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